Central African Republic: Video Shows Airdropped Supplies in Central African Republic Nature Reserve, Not Boko Haram Receiving Weapons

16 July 2024
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Catherine Adeniyi

Video shows airdropped supplies in Central African Republic nature reserve, not Boko Haram receiving weapons

IN SHORT: A video circulating online shows a supply mission by the conservation group African Parks in the Central African Republic. Claims that it shows Boko Haram or Fulani militias receiving weapons are false.

A video has been posted online with the claim that it shows Boko Haram terrorists receiving weapons and ammunition from a helicopter.

It shows a helicopter landing in the bush, a man unloading bags from the aircraft and other men approaching to take them. A song and the sound of the wind from the rotating blades can be heard in the background.

The caption of the video reads: "In case you've been wondering how the Fulani bandits and Boko- Haram get their arms and ammunitions, wonder no more."

The Fulani are an ethnic group scattered across many parts of Africa. They are mainly concentrated in Nigeria, Mali, Guinea, Senegal and Niger. They include a militia that has been blamed for several attacks on communities in Nigeria.

The claim appeared on Facebook here and here. (Note: See more instances of the claim at the end of this report.)

But does the video show Boko Haram terrorists picking up air-lifted ammunition? We checked.

African Parks helicopter on routine resupply mission

A Google reverse image search of a screenshot from the video led us to a 2021 Imaz Press fact check in French, which said the video was from a "routine supply mission" in a park in the Central African Republic.

According to the fact check, the people in the video were "awareness agents" employed by African Parks in Chinko, a large nature reserve in the east of the Central African Republic.

But the video was subsequently used as evidence that France was supplying weapons to terrorists in Mali.

African Parks is a non-governmental natural conservation organisation. It confirmed to other news agencies, like the Observer, that the video was shot in Chinko, which it runs in partnership with the government.

The statement from Africa Parks reads: "African Parks can confirm that the videos shows one of its helicopters carrying out a routine resupply mission in Chinko, in the Central African Republic."

In addition, a photo shared on the Facebook page of Chinko African Parks showed that the brown and yellow uniform worn by the Chinko park rangers in the photo matched that of the men in the video.

The Nigerian government has been accused of supplying arms to Fulani bandits in the past, using the same video.

The video was not shot in Nigeria, and it does not show Boko Haram receiving supplies by air. The Facebook claim is false.

The false claim also appeared here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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